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“I’m very pleased to welcome Dr. McCarthy, whose research on student success and the connections between academic outcomes, work and economic mobility are critical to our work at ATD,” said Stout. “With the support of our Network colleges, ATD is beginning to look beyond earning certificates and degrees as our goal to placement in jobs that offer family-sustaining wages and movement into the middle class.”

Mary Alice McCarthy is the founding director of New America’s Center on Education and Skills. She studies the intersection between higher education, workforce development and job training policies. The Center, newly established in 2016, is focused on building learning-based pathways to economic opportunity that can begin inside or outside of formal higher education in order to broaden the spectrum of high quality educational options for students of all ages. McCarthy was previously senior policy analyst in New America’s Education Policy program. In that position, she conducted original research and analysis with particular emphasis on the role of federal education and training policy in strengthening connections between work and learning. She also held positions in the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor.

McCarthy said, “Achieving the Dream has been breaking down barriers for American college students since it burst onto the scene in 2004. I am thrilled to join the effort and help colleges build even stronger connections for their students to economic opportunity and mobility.”